Fencing tool



1957 A. G.'GONZALES E-nu. 1

' FENCING TOOL File d Sept. 19, 1955 Abel 6. Gonzales Luther-D. Graham INVENTORS, BY mmyvm FENCING TOOL Abel G. Gonzales and Luther D. Graham, San Antonio, Tex.

Application September 19, 1955, Serial No. 535,114

1 Claim. (Cl. 254-78) This invention relates generally to wire stretchers and is more particularly concerned with a fence wire stretcher which is substantially self-locking.

The primary object of the invention in conformance with that set forth above is to provide a fence wire stretcher including a fence wire engaging hook pivotally supported on a pivotal force transmitting lever pivotally supported on a body member engageable on a top portion of a fence, said fence stretcher opposing stretcher force on said wire resulting in relocating the pivot of the wire engaging hook and tending to retain the stretcher in a relatively fixed and secured position.

A further object of the invention is to provide a fence wire stretcher device of the character set forth which is readily operative by one person with a minimum of labor, is strong and reliable in use, simple and practical in manufacture and highly efiicient for the purpose for which it is intended.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the novel fence wire stretcher;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the fence wire stretcher with parts broken away and in section showing the wire stretcher in position on a fence, and showing in dotted lines the alternate position of the stretcher 1 when not being used for stretching wire; and

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken substantially on line 3-3 of Figure l and showing in dotted lines the alternate position of the wire hook element when engaged in a wire stretching position.

Indicated generally at is the novel fence wire stretcher which is of a substantially inverted J-shaped construction including a downwardly opening top portion 12 and elongated body portion 14. A pivot axle 16 constituted by a suitable bolt element extends between the downwardly opening top portion 12 of the wire stretcher and rotatably supports a roller element 18 having a concave circumference 20 for engagement on the top rail member 22 of a wire fence 24 which includes stretchable wire elements (only one being shown) 26. It will be noted that the roller 18 is rotatable in a plane substantially parallel to the body portion 14 of the wire stretcher, said stretcher being constructed or fabricated from substantially elongated fiat stock.

The body portion 14 includes a downwardly opening slot portion 24 defining a pair of spaced leg portions 26 and 28 which have respectively secured on a lower end portion thereof a substantially U-shaped stop element 30 including a bight portion 32 disposed substantially beneath the roller element 18.

lntermediately secured in any suitable manner on the leg portions 26 and 28 are a pair of spaced connecting ear elements 34 and 36 which include suitable aligned aperture portions carried therein a pivot element 38 pivotally supporting an operating lever 40 at an intermediate portion thereof, said lever including a handle portion 42 extending through said slot 24, the opposite end of said lever 40 comprising a pair of mutually parallel spaced connecting ear elements 44 and 46 having pivotally secured therebetween by means of suitable pivot pin 48 the upper end of a wire engaging hook 50, the lower end of which having an upwardly turned end portion 52 for engagement with the wire 26 in a suitable loop thereof.

Thus when the wire stretcher device positioned as seen in Figure 2, rotation of the lever 40 in a clockwise direction results in the relocation of the pivot 48 of the hook 50 after tension has been placed on the wire being stretched, from the position shown in dotted lines to that shown in solid lines whereby there is a tendency to urge the handle portion 42 into engagement with the bight portion 32 of the yoke element 30, and accordingly after the wire has been stretched the handle is retained in a substantially fixed position as seen in Figure 2 until the same is rotated in a counter-clockwise direction. Obviously, this wire stretcher permits the usage thereof by a single operator and accordingly gives rise to a high degree of efficiency.

Various positional directional terms such as front, rear, etc., are utilized herein to have only a relative connotation to aid in describing the device and are not intended to require any particular orientation with respect to any external elements.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

A fence wire stretcher comprising an elongated flat body portion having a hooked upper end extending from one side thereof and provided therein with a journaled roller adapted to ride a top rail of a wire fence to suspend said body portion in vertical position, said body portion having a longitudinal slot therein open at the lower end of said body portion, a lateral U-shaped stop on the lower end of said body portion extending from the same side of said body portion as said hooked upper end, a pair of laterally spaced ears on said body portion at opposite sides of said slot extending from the same side of said body portion as said hooked upper end and said stop, a lever pivoted intermediate its ends between said ears for vertical swinging in one direction through said slot into and against said stop to limit swinging of said lever in said direction, and a wire engaging and stretching hook having one end pivoted to one end of said lever and depending therefrom for upward swinging by swinging of said lever in said direction, said lever swinging the pivot of said wire engaging and stretching hook past vertical alignment with the pivot of said lever when said lever engages said stop whereby the pull of the wire on said wire engaging and stretching hook holds said lever against said stop.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 401,857 Rogers Apr. 23, 1889 705,101 Lemaire July 22, 1902 1,429,731 Grant Sept. 19, 1922 

